#bloggersquad

WRITTEN BY:Renezmai Rude

1. Schedule posts

Scheduling blog posts gives you more time because you can easily schedule weeks in advance instead of posting on the spot, and in the case you get busy you have some cushion so you don't fall behind on blogging. Each platform usually comes with a schedule button and if you use Weebly, you can click on the arrow next to post for scheduling options.

2. Write posts ahead of time

Writing ahead of time goes into the previous tip because when you write ahead of time you can schedule them ahead of time, easily getting ahead on your blogging schedule so that you don't have to spend hours a day writing and working on your blog after your day job. If you use public transportation to commute, you can use your train or bus ride to write down ideas while you travel. Keep a notebook on your person this post features some cool pads.

3. Do a variety of posts

All your posts don't have to be long winded 1000+ word articles; having shorter posts about news, reviews, or advice can easily make your blogging life a bit easier, as well as mixing it up for your readers. You can also center posts around the holidays. Valentine's day is coming up. Here are some post ideas. Just make sure the information you are providing is timely and useful.

4. Post on a schedule

While this tip sounds a lot like tip #1, it is a bit different. Posting on a certain day or days each week keeps you on schedule and allows you time to write more because you are not hassling to get things written because you forgot to post anything for 3 weeks. Having a set schedule allows you to easily coordinate your blogging schedule with your work schedule, making your life a little more organized and easy.

5. Allow guest bloggers

Guest bloggers are a perfect way to free up some time for writing. The whole article is written out for you, all you have to do is press post. This makes your blogging weight a little bit easier to bare, freeing up some extra time for work and family. An added bonus is that it drives more traffic as your guest blogger will promote their work on their blog and possibly their social media pages.

6. Interview people

When you send out email questions, the responses you get back are about 80% of a post. All you really need to do is write an introduction and conclusion and possibly a bit of editing. Plus, you will get backlinks to your website as the person you interviewed can feature it as press. Check out an example here, of an interview we did with the designer behind Brazen Era Clothing.

7. Hire content writers

If your work schedule is way too busy to keep track of all the posts you need written, you can hire a content/freelance writer to fill in the slots you don't have time for. This option is similar to getting guest bloggers, but it is more consistent and you decide exactly what they write and you can control the quality of the content. Upwork is a great site to find trust worthy freelancers.

8. Dedicate a set amount of time weekly

Dedicating a certain number of hours a week that you dispense evenly throughout the week is the easiest way to lighten your load. You are doing the same amount of work, you're just not pulling an all-nighter once a week to get everything done. I personally like to dedicate 4 hours a week and only work an hour a day 4 days a week. It makes my schedule lighter and easier to handle with my freelance writing job.

9. Schedule social media posts

When it comes to being a blogger, social media follows close behind writing the actual blog posts when it comes to what we do most often. A great way to give you more time for your full time job is to schedule all your blog related social media content before hand. I prefer to use the Hootsuite app for this. Then I spend a few minutes throughout the day posting about whatever else I want. I try to keep my blog posts and other posts at a 1:5 ratio, posting 1 blog related post to every 5 other posts. The others can be retweets or just random thoughts. This is something I do to keep my followers entertained so it doesn't just seem like I am spamming them with my blog content.

10. Participate in blog tours

Personally I love being in book blog tours. This is where you subscribe to a tour list and they send you HTMLS that you can post about the release day and news about the book or subject. This gives you some free content to post, as well as frees up some time that you would otherwise have spent writing and maintaining your blog

11. Sign up for a few blog Linkys

We spend as much time promoting our posts as we do writing them. Signing up for linkys is a good way to get quickly get your links to other bloggers. You can bookmark people who have weekly linkys or use the SITgirls guide.

12. Have a pitch email already drafted

Receiving an email from a PR person can be nerve drafting. It seems like every pitch takes hours. Draft pitches for different types of industries and keep them in your drafts. make sure you have links available to your media kit and that the media kit is editable so you can quickly update it. This will save you tons of time and allow you to get back to a PR person quickly.